Here are 7 Takeaways From the First Half of the N.F.L. Season

At roughly the midpoint of the 2018 N.F.L. season, there are now several evident truths:

• After the Los Angeles Rams’ stirring 29-27 comeback victory over Green Bay on Sunday, it seems likely that the road to the N.F.C. championship will run through Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the Rams play their home games.

But should that happen, the Rams had better hope they don’t have to host Green Bay again because tens of thousands of Packers fans turned the Coliseum into Lambeau Field West during Sunday’s game. And that visiting crowd nearly roused Green Bay to a major upset.

• The Steelers are still plenty good enough to challenge for the A.F.C. title, whether Le’Veon Bell returns to the team or not.

• Implausibly, FitzMagic has been revived in Tampa Bay. At the same time, the gold dust sprinkled over the Baltimore Ravens just two weeks ago has swiftly disappeared.

• The Giants are somehow getting worse, the Chiefs may be getting better, and nobody can figure out what’s going on with the underachieving, floundering Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Rams Show Their Maturity

The Packers-Rams matchup was expected to be the featured game of the day and it did not disappoint as both teams charged up and down the field for more than three hours. The shame of this game was that a fitting, rousing, climatic finish, which would have been Aaron Rodgers attempting to rally the Packers in the final two minutes, did not occur because of a foolish decision by Rodgers’s teammate, Ty Montgomery.

After a Greg Zuerlein field goal gave the undefeated Rams the 29-27 lead with slightly more than two minutes remaining in the game, television cameras zoomed in on Rodgers as he waited to enter the game from the sideline so he could fashion another one of his prototypical, last-ditch winning drives.

Rodgers looked like a school kid waiting by the classroom door for recess to begin.

Then Montgomery fielded the ensuing kickoff about 2 yards deep in his end zone. Returning the kick risked a turnover and would also run time off the clock that Rodgers might need to get in position for a clinching field goal.

But Montgomery surprisingly sprinted from the end zone, fumbling as he was tackled near the 20-yard line. The Rams recovered.

The broadcast cameras again showed Rodgers waiting on the sideline. Let’s just say he looked displeased. No fun and games in recess on this day.

It will be small consolation to the Packers (3-3-1) that they may have played their most complete game of the season, with a defensive effort that held the potent Los Angeles offensive attack to 8 points until midway through the third quarter.

But the game revealed how much the young Rams (8-0) have matured from last season. While the Rams’ third-year quarterback, Jared Goff, was sacked five times and knocked to the ground repeatedly in the passing pocket, he had the resolve to stay aggressive throughout the contest. Indeed, he played his best in the second half.

Trailing by 13-8 in the third quarter, the Rams scored 15 unanswered points, with Goff throwing two touchdown passes. Goff is also blessed to have Todd Gurley, perhaps the N.F.L.’s best running back, at his side. Gurley led his team in rushing yards (114) and receiving yards (81).

The Rams’ quest for a perfect season will continue next week in New Orleans, where an equally powerful N.F.C. rival awaits in the Superdome. The Packers will try to avoid falling further behind in the N.F.C. North — and the chase for a playoff berth — when they visit the surging Patriots in New England.

The Steelers Might Not Need Le’Veon Bell

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh on Sunday, the Steelers won their third successive game behind Bell’s replacement, James Conner, who ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns in the second half as Pittsburgh pulled away in a 33-18 rout of Cleveland. Even if Bell returns, which is expected after this week’s trade deadline passes, it’s going to be fascinating to see how Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin navigates having two elite running backs.

Conner, who had five receptions for 66 yards to go along with his 146 rushing yards over all, averaged more than 6 yards per carry Sunday and 13.2 yards per catch. How can you keep that kind of production off the field?

Yes, the opponent was the Browns (2-5-1), but in general, the Pittsburgh (4-2-1) is finding its stride in many of the usual ways. Antonio Brown caught two touchdown passes; Ben Roethlisberger was sacked just once. Business as usual for the Steelers.

The Bucs Need a Little FitzMagic

In Cincinnati, FitzMagic resurfaced in the N.F.L. for what seems like the umpteenth time. The Buccaneers benched Jameis Winston after his fourth interception, which was returned for a touchdown, to give the Bengals an 18-point lead in the final minutes of the third quarter.

Enter Ryan Fitzpatrick. You know what happened next.

Fitzpatrick led Tampa Bay to a field goal on his first series, then threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans on the Bucs’ next possession. Scrambling in the pocket and making daring dashes downfield for first downs, the 35-year-old Fitzpatrick was at his impulsive best, especially when he tossed another touchdown pass. Then he extended a pass play with good pocket presence to complete a pass to Chris Godwin for the 2-point conversation that tied the score, 34-34.

Alas, as we all know, FitzMagic always has an expiration date — plus Fitzpatrick doesn’t play defense. The Buccaneers’ defense let Andy Dalton and the Bengals (5-3) roar down the field and set up a game-winning 44-yard field goal by Randy Bullock.

But in Tampa (3-4), another quarterback controversy looms. Moreover, Winston’s ongoing poor play has to cloud his future with the team. Winston is scheduled to make about $21 million next season.

The Ravens Are on a Run of Bad Luck

Just two weeks ago, Baltimore appeared poised to use its league-best defense to challenge the reigning A.F.C. champion Patriots. But consecutive losses to New Orleans and Carolina have dropped the Ravens’ record to 4-4 and sent them back to the bottom half of the A.F.C. North standings.

Bad luck seems to have suddenly enveloped the Ravens. Last week, place-kicker Justin Tucker missed the first extra point of his career to assure the Saints’ victory. On Sunday, bad bounces and ill-timed miscues undid Baltimore, including an illegal shift penalty that negated an audacious, successful fake punt that Ravens Coach John Harbaugh boldly chose to try at his own 10-yard line. Carolina (5-2) reaped the benefits in a 36-21 victory.

Extra Points

• As for the 1-7 Giants, who lost, 20-13, to Washington (5-2), here’s all you need to know: Eli Manning was sacked seven times, threw two interceptions and completed only two passes longer than 25 yards.

• The most telling stat for the 7-1 Chiefs? Patrick Mahomes’s quarterback rating Sunday in a 30-23 defeat of Denver was 125 (303 passing yards, four touchdowns, one interception).

• And finally, there are the Jaguars, who in January may have been one reversed official’s call away from the Super Bowl. But this season’s Jaguars (3-5) have lost four successive games. On Sunday, they scored just one touchdown in a 24-18 defeat in London to Philadelphia (4-4). The once fearsome Jacksonville defense gave up 133 rushing yards and allowed Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz to pass for three touchdowns.

The good news? Roughly midway through this N.F.L. season, where parity is the overarching watchword, the Jaguars are only two games out of first place.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B6 of the New York edition with the headline: 8 Weeks In, Real Picture Of the N.F.L. Materializes. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe